Iran to Limit Inspectors’ Access to its Nuclear Facilities
Patrick Wintour | The Guardian
Iran will further reduce its commitment to the nuclear deal signed with world powers by limiting international inspectors’ access to its nuclear sites, senior Iranian MPs have said. The move, which is expected to take place at the beginning of November, will be the fourth Iranian step away from the deal, and puts pressure on France, Germany and the UK to make some form of counter-move. On Wednesday, the spokesman for the Iranian parliament’s national security committee, Hossein Naghavi-Hosseini, said: “In the fourth step of reducing JCPOA commitments, we will probably impose limits on inspections, which means the International Atomic Energy Agency’s surveillance on Iran’s nuclear activities will be reduced.” He added: “When the other party doesn’t fulfil its commitments, there is no necessity for us to meet our part of commitments.” Iran has justified the step by step reduction in its commitment by pointing to the EU’s inability to make good on its promises to increase trade between Iran and Europe.
Russia Stops U.S. Diplomats en Route to a Nuclear Accident Site
Ivan Nechepurenko | The New York Times
The Russian authorities removed three American diplomats from a train heading to an Arctic town near the site of a recent nuclear accident, Russian news agencies reported on Wednesday. The diplomats were about to take a train to Nenoksa, the village closest to the military testing site where a mysterious explosion in August left seven people dead and caused a spike in radiation levels miles away. The Russian Foreign Ministry acknowledged the fact that the diplomats had notified the Russian Defense Ministry about their plans, according to Interfax. “But they only stated their plans to visit Arkhangelsk,” the ministry said, referring to the regional capital, about 26 miles east of Severodvinsk. “Then they appeared on the Nenoksa-Severodvisnk train,” the statement continued. “Perhaps they got lost.” The Russian authorities have said very little about the accident on Aug. 8, which took place at a Russian Navy rocket testing range on the White Sea.
Trump Appears to Confirm Open Secret About U.S. Nuclear Weapons in Turkey
Zachary Cohen | CNN
President Donald Trump appeared to confirm Wednesday that US nuclear weapons are being housed at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, making him the first US official to publicly acknowledge what has been considered an open secret for years. Most experts believe that the US maintains 50 Cold War-era B-61 “gravity” bombs in Turkey. The weapons are part of NATO's deterrence strategy and decisions about them have to be made by a unanimous vote of all 28 member states. While sitting alongside the Italian President in the Oval Office, Trump was asked if he is concerned about the safety of “as many as 50 nuclear weapons at Incirlik Air Base” given the ongoing Turkish incursion into Syria -- a situation that has prompted bipartisan condemnation from members of Congress and suggestions that the weapons should be moved to another location. “We're confident, and we have a great -- a great air base there, a very powerful air base. That air base alone can take anyplace. It's a large, powerful air base,” Trump responded, apparently acknowledging that US nuclear weapons are being stored in Turkey.
Governors of Western States Want Nuclear Testing Compensation Expanded
Keith Ridler | AP News
Atmospheric nuclear weapons testing exposed more states and more people to radiation fallout and resulting cancers and other diseases than the federal government currently recognizes, Western governors said. The Western Governors’ Association on Friday sent letters to the U.S. Senate and U.S. House urging passage of proposed changes to a law involving “downwinders.” The changes to the 1990 Radiation Exposure Compensation Act would add all of Nevada, Arizona and Utah, and include for the first time downwinders in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico and the island territory of Guam. The changes would also include increasing the maximum payment to $150,000 for someone filing a claim. Compensation currently ranges from lump sums of $100,000 for uranium workers to $50,000 for those who lived downwind of the Nevada Test Site.
U.S. Supreme Court Dashes Hopes of Reviving Failed SC Plutonium Processing Plant
Thad Moore | The Post and Courier
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday dashed South Carolina’s hopes of reviving a failed plan to process tons of plutonium from nuclear weapons at a plant near Aiken. The high court’s decision not to consider the case ends a long fight between the state and the federal government over its plans for the disposal of plutonium, the radioactive metal used to trigger nuclear explosions. The plan, known as MOX because it would have produced mixed-oxide fuel for nuclear reactors, dated to the early 2000s when the U.S. and Russia agreed to dispose of enough plutonium to build thousands of bombs. The U.S. Department of Energy, which manages the nation’s nuclear stockpile, killed the MOX project last fall, citing mounting delays and a budget that had ballooned by billions of dollars.
Why France is Eyeing Nuclear Power Again
Janus Temple | MIT Technology Review
After years of backing away from nuclear power, France suddenly wants to build six huge reactors. This week Le Monde reported that the government asked EDF, the country's main state-controlled energy company, to work up plans to build three new nuclear plants, each with a pair of its EPR reactors. It doesn’t appear that any developments are final—or even funded—at this stage. But energy experts were surprised by the news because it seemed to suggest France is adjusting its stance on nuclear. The nation produces more than 70% of its electricity from nuclear power, the highest share of any nation in the world. But sentiment shifted after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. French nuclear regulators pushed for safety upgrades to existing plants, and in 2015 the government voted to cut the share of nuclear in the nation’s energy supply to 50% by 2025 (a date later pushed out to 2035).